Steve Peterson for Industrygamers:

Market research firm IHS iSuppli is projecting that in-app purchases will account for 64% of total app market revenue by 2015, up from 39% in 2011. These percentages reflect the total from both iOS and Android smartphones. In-app purchases already represent 45% of iOS app revenue and 31% of the highest-earning Android apps.

I often take iSuppli figures with a grain of salt, but there’s no question that iPhone and other smartphone users overwhelmingly prefer free apps when they can get them. It’s a trend that has really taken hold in the game market and it’s spreading to other market segments too.

For the future, the question developers will have to answer is, how do I capitalize on this? How do I produce an app that I can release for free, and entice customers to make in-app purchases to help me make a profit?